It’s also posting items from contributor Lt. Newman McKay, a recent graduate of Centre College in Danville, Ky. deployed to Iraq until Spring 2011. His Facebook page says he is with the 632nd Maintenance Co., 110th CSSB, at COB Adder. (And that he thought the new Usher joint was sick. Moving on.)

McKay’s first blog post, a month in, stuck to the basics. Iraq’s a literal desert, but also a hook-up desert and a cell phone desert. He doesn’t say why you should avoid the breakfast burritos, but one can imagine.

With all that said, I don’t want anyone to think that we’re “roughing it.” Yes, it’s hot. And yes, the days are long. But there is plenty of food, clean water, and shelter. I have profound respect for the men and women who served in places like Vietnam and Korea. Now that was roughing it.

In his follow-up post, A Report from Iraq: It Could Be Worse, McKay mentions that he hasn’t been out on his first convoy yet, which might account for why life seems so danger-free. He sums up life as “working, exercising, eating, and sleeping.” It’s life inside the wire.

He says the pay’s not so bad, discipline seems to be slipping and he hasn’t had to dodge a bullet yet. Let’s hope he doesn’t have to.

It’s tame, but honest, and it could be an interesting window into this next phase of operations in Iraq. Let’s see what happens next.